white house

Coalition Pressures Government Agency To Recommend Ban on Government Use of Facial Recognition

Over 40 groups sent a letter to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on Monday asking the agency to recommend that the executive branch put a moratorium on facial recognition.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Jan 29, 2020

A number of advocacy groups are pressuring the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board -- an independent government agency that advises the presidential administration on privacy matters -- to recommend that the federal government suspend use of facial recognition while accuracy and privacy issues are addressed.

Forty groups led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center signed a letter on Monday that called for the agency to stop government use of facial recognition “pending further review,” citing a recent New York Times report on a massive facial recognition database as one reason why the PCLOB should recommend the suspension to the Secretary of Homeland Security and President Trump. The report found that more than 600 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. were using a database of social media photos built by Clearview AI, a little-known startup.

“The PCLOB has a unique responsibility, set out in statute, to assess technologies and polices that impact the privacy of Americans after 9-11 and to make recommendations to the President and executive branch,” the coalition wrote. “The rapid and unregulated deployment of facial recognition poses a direct threat to ‘the precious liberties that are vital to our way of life.’”

In addition, the letter points to growing efforts on the local level -- including in California and Massachusetts -- to ban law enforcement use of facial recognition tech. Just this week, a bill was introduced in the New York state senate that would ban law enforcement agencies from accessing or installing biometric surveillance technology for their jobs, according to NNY360.

Facial recognition algorithms in the U.S. have also struggled to accurately identify people of color, particularly black Americans. A 2019 report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that Native Americans had the highest rates of false positives, while African-American women were most likely to be misidentified in a law enforcement database.

“While we do not believe that that improved accuracy of facial recognition would justify further deployment, we do believe that the obvious problems with bias and discrimination in the systems that are currently in use is an additional reason to recommend a blanket moratorium,” the coalition wrote.

The signees of the letter included Fight for the Future, Color of Change, the Project on Government Oversight and the Consumer Federation of America.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.